Corriegarth Hotel Inverness

My first weekend in Scotland turned out to be a local holiday weekend (bonus!), half day on Friday and full day on Monday - only in Stirling, not in Edinburgh/Glasgow or anywhere else... So slightly confusing, and it didn't actually work out that way and I only had Saturday off in the end! What better to way to spend it then than to drive ...

Today, I was planning to go to the youth hostel at the castle, but the Land Rover had other plans!!!

Oh dear, game over! I popped out to start the Land Rover this morning at around 9am and the engine was smoking like a trooper and sounding a lot worse than it normally does. I called the AA at around 10:00 and they turned up at at around 10:45 from a local garage. He told me that the engine is fairly terminal (piston problem ...

... will go out of their way to help a stranger.

Things that made me smile today:

The multitude of frogs and toads enjoying the wet ground
The two couples who gave me sponsorship at Inversnaid
Feral goats at Inversnaid - the book is not wrong about their smell!
All the lovely people I met at the youth hostel
The drying room - it was extremely hot and all my kit is now properly dry!

... is on the path today too.

This area also has links to some of the earliest Christian arrivals from Ireland, with the ruined St Fillian's Priory reported to be the site of the original monastic cells of St Fillian who arrived from Ireland in the 8th century and spread Christianity amongst the Picts. Certainly it was an important site - Robert the Bruce raised it to priory status and, even after its dissolution, local people kept up the cemetery.

Inverarnan, Scotland, United Kingdom charlief

... if I'd never seen one before), and hills.



On this little post-work afternoon stroll I made it as far as Port of Menteith and the Loch Lomond/Trossachs National Park. Then I realised I could actually continue walking for miles, but ...

... that I'm taking it face on. I'm frustrated that everyone I meet coming the other way looks almost dry! Still, my waterproofs and boots are doing an excellent job and underneath I'm not really wet. The moor seems bleak in this weather but on a clear day there are obviously stunning views to be had.

Heading down to Inverornan, the clouds suddenly roll away and the sun comes out. I take my chances and stop for a quick snack, revelling in the chance ...

... s not walking so it's a nice surprise to see her again.

What made me smile today:

The stunning Mamores
The bird that followed me all the way down the fence of the last two miles to Kingshouse
All the lovely, friendly people I met en route and at Kingshouse
Liz & Alec's offer of a lift - very welcome!
Meeting Helen again at Glencoe and hearing how she thought of me when she had to carry her pack from the bus stop to the hostel!

... the forecast we won't get any good views of Skye as we fly over tomorrow. Our two suitcases came in at 14.7kg and 17.5kg, well under the 20kg allowance for the FlyBe flight on the way down to Gatwick. Unfortunately this is our max limit on the way back as well despite the BA flight allowing 2 25kg bags each so only room for a little shopping. I have pre-bought Dollars ...

... top of the Loch I knew we were in for some snow. And that was only a small taste of what was to come. We headed up through the western hihglands making a few short photo stops on the away (the moutain scenery is stunning), making our first major stop at the specatuclar Glen Coe. This was my fourth time to the spot, and it still didn't dissapointed. After a wee while admiring the view we continued on passing through Fort William then north ...

... there) and ate fish n chips by the water. Today (Sunday) we traveled into the city centre by train and went to church at Glagow Central Fellowship which meets in the KOG cafe (the coffeehouse that I and many many friends helped work on when I was here). It's sooooooooooooo different...they've really progressed in the building plans and it looks very nice now (It's hard to believe that it was once a second home for me...I remember it very well back when they first ...